Learning and Loving
by animeotaku20
Summary: Two basketball idiots in unrequited love find the courage to go for their goals off the court, and learn that perhaps 'unrequited' isn't quite the right description after all.


I don't own 'Kuroko no Basuke'

* * *

Kagami and Kuroko were sat at their usual spot in Maji Burger, Kuroko silently sipping his usual vanilla shake and Kagami lazily munching on his tray of twenty or so burgers that he ordered every single time.

They weren't speaking to one another but there wasn't anything wrong with the quiet between them. Kagami remembered how he had used to hate silence with a passion, but ever since Kuroko had become his 'shadow' Kagami had become used to this comfortable silence between them. The quiet was relaxing, a way for them to be together without any complications. It was a peaceful silence that always gave him a chance to think, not that he ever thought about much except for basketball. His favourite sport was still the focal point in his life of course, it was something he was working towards for a career. Of course that's what he thought about most. Though perhaps his grades were also starting to make more of an appearance in his mind, especially as they were beginning to get even worse than they had been to begin with.

He sighed and stole a glance at his smaller teammate across the table, making sure he wasn't staring too obviously at the other boy. Kuroko was absentmindedly drinking his shake like he did every time they came here. His soft blue hair framed his face perfectly, and those matching bright blue eyes were staring at the table, his mind seemingly somewhere else. His pale porcelain skin, which Kagami thought that most girls would probably kill for, seemed even paler than usual as a slight pink hue was suffused across his cheeks from the cold of his drink.

Kagami had long since realised that his feelings of admiration for Kuroko had probably grown into something more than what was the norm for a fellow teammate. He had often found himself stealing covert glances at Kuroko more than what he did his other friends, not to mention noticing his pulse racing whenever they had even the slightest bit of bodily contact. Not too long ago, the redhead had finally understood his confusing feelings for his diminutive friend when Kuroko had given him a small beaming smile that had made his stomach flop, and Kagami had been so overcome with the urge to grab the smaller boy and wrap his arms around him that he had sped away quickly, but he had been so distracted that he'd walked into a wall. (Even the throbbing pain in his head hadn't been enough to overcome his panicked realisation that he wanted Kuroko.)

Ever since then he had known that his feelings for the blue-haired boy were beyond mere friendship, no longer the casual camaraderie between two members of the same team, and he desperately wanted to tell Kuroko the truth. Not that he would; he was beyond scared that Kuroko wouldn't reciprocate and that his confession would ruin everything between them. The taller boy could only hope that Kuroko would confess himself one day, though it wasn't something he was all that hopeful over. It was Kuroko after all and he was brilliant. Even if he _still_ wouldn't get rid of that evil mutt.

"Kuroko."

Kuroko stopped drinking momentarily and looked up at his companion. Kagami was looking at him intently, crimson eyes boring into his and he felt his heart skip a beat at the intensity of the gaze. (Not that it showed on his face; he was practically a genius at concealing his emotions at this point.) The smaller boy looked back at the crimson-eyed giant across the table, casually admiring his tanned face and serious expression. Though pretty much everyone saw the other boy as something akin to a wild tiger, Kuroko knew full well that the redhead was actually a lot more sensitive than he let on. Kagami just had too much pride to let others see him when he was vulnerable, so much so that he inadvertently gave off a ferocious aura that terrified everyone that met him. That and he was actually quite an awkward individual; he wasn't quite sure _how_ to show others his true self, too focused on playing basketball to talk to new people.

The blue-haired boy looked directly into Kagami's eyes and felt his heartbeat pick up at the sight of red eyes meeting his, wishing fervently that the intent look on the taller boy's face meant that he was about to confess his feelings for Kuroko. Not that he would ever expect it to happen; Kuroko was well aware that his thoughts were nothing but a silly dream, a fantasy to think about when he felt down. He had liked Kagami for quite a while by this point, but he knew that there was no way his new 'light' saw him in that way. Kuroko also didn't want to ruin their current relationship by confessing only to be rejected and have things turn awkward between them.

He didn't want Kagami to hate him.

"Yes Kagami-kun?" Having a normal conversation was probably the best idea for avoiding unnecessary thoughts. "What's wrong?"

"I … um … I …" Kagami now had a rather attractive red blush across his face that matched his crimson hair, and despite the awkward stuttering the smaller boy could feel his heart rate pick up once more. Kagami really was cute.

Kagami clapped his hands together hard and bowed his head to Kuroko, almost hitting his head on the table with how quickly he moved. "Please tutor me!"

The blue-haired boy sighed inwardly and berated himself at getting his hopes up. "Which subjects?"

"Ah, well, actually … I'm kind of doing bad in everything. And if I don't do well on next week's exams I'll have to quit basketball …"

He trailed off as he realised he was asking quite a lot from his friend. Kagami looked down at the table and frowned as he thought about his grades, but when he glanced back up at Kuroko he could have sworn he saw a brief flash of pain in the blue orbs before his usual deadpan expression returned. _What was that about?_

"That's okay, I can help you. I could start today if you want?"

"Sure, thanks! Hey, to make it easier you should stay over for the weekend."

Kuroko nodded silently and turned his head to look out the window, resuming his shake with silent glee. Maybe. It was still kind of hard to tell with the smaller boy. Kagami grinned and went back to scarfing down his many burgers, grateful for the convenient distraction. Though he had managed to keep his composure he had been screaming for joy in his head. His plan to spend more time with Kuroko had thankfully been a success. (Though in reality he really _did_ need a tutor for his abysmal test scores.) Even better was that Kuroko would actually be spending the entire weekend with him. The taller boy thought that he might try and summon some courage and use this weekend to finally confess his feelings for his teammate.

There was only one way to find out what would happen if he did.

* * *

Kagami all but ran towards the door after hearing a knock, but stopped dead just before he opened it; he realised he probably looked like a little kid running around excitedly and stopped to calm himself down. There was no need to make Kuroko think he was a complete weirdo. He took a deep breath and let it out, repeating the action a few times until his pulse slowed down, after which he mentally braced himself and calmly opened the door.

Kuroko was stood outside his door shivering slightly from the cold. Even with a thick coat over his clothes the smaller boy had still fallen prey to the harsh weather, and Kagami took a moment to hope his friend didn't get ill from being outside for so long. The winter air was decidedly chilly this evening and Kuroko had been out for a while, the frigid temperature having painted a lovely pink on the blue-haired boy's face. A pink that once again made Kagami lose all focus and stare at the enticing image in front of him.

"Kagami-kun?" Kuroko's question jolted Kagami from his ogling and brought him back to reality, and he stood to the side to let his friend inside. The taller boy took Kuroko's things to the guest bedroom and told him to go and sit beside the heater. As he came back to the living room, Kagami found the blue-haired boy sat on the floor beside his heater hugging his knees to his chest with a small but beautiful smile on his face.

The redhead was suddenly incredibly aware of the tempting image that Kuroko painted and that he was close to jumping on his teammate and having his way with him. He mentally shook off the inappropriate thoughts and berated himself internally. _Nope, no way, not going to happen. That is the_ worst _possible idea right now._ If he did that then there was no way that he and Kuroko would have a meaningful relationship; he wanted things between them to be genuine, not based off of crazy teenage hormones.

Kuroko looked up in time to see his taller teammate vigorously shaking his head back and forth as if trying to get rid of a particularly nasty thought. He quietly chuckled to himself at the picture which caused Kagami to suddenly look his way, a wide-eyed look on his face as if he had just seen something truly fascinating. Was he really that fascinating?

The smaller boy stopped laughing and Kagami cleared his throat. "Dinner's ready. I wasn't too sure what you wanted so there's a few different things."

Kuroko smiled at him. "Thank you Kagami-kun."

After eating a very hearty meal - Kagami really did eat an amazing amount of food for one person - they were both stuffed and decided to relax by watching a film. Kuroko skimmed through his teammate's numerous DVDs before deciding to pick one at random, ending up with some generic action film, and the two of them sat on the sofa together to watch it.

Well that had been the plan, anyway. They were both so aware of each other's presence that they weren't even paying attention to the film, and if pressed they wouldn't be able to recall what they were even watching. How could anyone pay attention to some obviously CGI explosions when there was an extremely tempting body sat just inches away?

Eventually Kuroko started shaking from the cold again, his thinner body more susceptible to the lower temperature, and Kagami slowly shifted closer to him. The smaller boy froze at the movement before he realised his teammate was just putting a blanket over him, arranging it carefully to avoid any draughts. He sighed softly at the warmth but froze once more when he realised that they were now both under the blanket. The same blanket. Together. Kuroko really wasn't sure what to do having never been in a situation like this before, but Kagami was feeling a bit daring and he put one of his arms around Kuroko and pulled him to his side and held him tightly.

"Better?" asked Kagami quietly. Kuroko silently nodded and leaned more into Kagami's side, very much appreciating the other body's body heat. And his actual body, if he was being honest with himself.

Kagami could feel his face burning at the contact and hoped that Kuroko couldn't hear his heartbeat. He was sure the heavy thumping was so loud it could be heard echoing in his apartment. Though maybe that was the sound of his blood rushing in his ears. Kagami shifted slightly, desperate not to do anything stupid. He wanted to kiss Kuroko so badly, it was like a physical ache in his chest. It was like he was losing control and he didn't know what to do. He surreptitiously glanced down at his friend and his eyes widened in shock at the sight.

Kuroko was blushing deeply, an attractive red flush painted across his face and the tips of his ears. It was even more obvious given how pale his normal skin tone was. He hands were also half shaking, half twitching in his lap as the smaller boy tried to figure out where to put them. Kagami's teammate had a strange look on his cute face which he soon realised was a nervously embarrassed expression. He had never seen anyone look so adorable in all his life and his hormones could only take so much temptation. He'd valiantly tried to hold himself back from doing something stupid all night, but the moment the object of his affection started gnawing at his red lip he snapped.

The arm currently around Kuroko tightened, pulling the smaller boy even closer into his side, while the other went to the other boy's chin, his large hand gripping the fragile-looking face before he tilted Kuroko's face towards his own. Kuroko watched on in complete shock as Kagami's face slowly lowered towards his, crimson eyes at half-mast as they locked onto his before they joined and their lips met.

The immediate flare of heat shocked Kuroko, as did the revelation of just how soft Kagami's lips actually were. But he was more concerned about keeping it going rather than carefully analysing the new feelings he was experiencing. The blue-haired boy leaned fully into the kiss, eyes softening before fluttering shut, wanting to simply feel Kagami and the heat. As if reading his thoughts the redhead ran his tongue along Kuroko's bottom lip making him gasp, Kagami using the opportunity to sweep his tongue into Kuroko's mouth, tasting him all over before wrapping the muscle around Kuroko's own. Kuroko gasped and panted for breath at the new sensation, unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. He didn't want the kiss to end but Kagami noticed he couldn't breathe and gently pulled away. Kuroko panted at the sudden influx of air and opened his eyes, but paled as soon as he noticed what he had done to his friend.

Without even realising he'd covertly slid one hand up the front of Kagami's shirt, using his fingers to lightly glide over Kagami's toned body whilst the other was down the back of Kagami's jeans tightly squeezing his arse. Though it seemed his hands weren't the only ones that had been busy. The crimson-haired boy currently had his large hands under Kuroko's shirt, holding his waist and stroking his pale skin.

Kagami took one look at Kuroko's face before he too paled at his actions. _Shit … I messed up._ Kagami pulled his hands back, so quickly it seemed as if he'd been burned and starting yelling in a panicked manner. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He covered his face with his hands and hung his head, heart sinking at the knowledge that he'd managed to ruin things for good because he couldn't control himself. "God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to attack you like that." _Great, well done Taiga. You just screwed up_ everything _. Why the hell_ _did I do that…?_

Kuroko watched Kagami's incessant apologies with bewilderment before he figured out the issue. _He thinks he did something wrong. Silly Bakagami._ The smaller boy slowly pulled away his own groping hands from their place on his friend's body before grabbing Kagami's hands and pulling them away from his depressed face.

"Kagami-kun." Kuroko's soft voice cut through Kagami's miserable inner monologue, the blue-haired boy sounding strangely calm and happy considering the situation. The taller boy slowly raised his head, still expecting something like a punch, at least some brutal words thrown in his face. After all, he deserved it. Instead of the expected violence Kuroko leaned closer determinedly and firmly pressed his lips to Kagami's. The kiss was a far cry from their previous experience, this time entirely pure and chaste, but not lacking in feeling at all. He pulled back and looked his teammate in the eye, blue locked onto crimson.

Kagami blinked rapidly, shocked beyond belief at the turn of events. _Eh? He kissed me? But why? I don't understand._

Kuroko looked at the confused redhead and sighed as though he were put out, but the massive smile on his face left no question to his thoughts. He really was cute. The blue-haired boy smiled at the other boy and decided to finally go for it.

"I love you, Kagami-kun."

Kagami swore he could feel his heart skip a beat at the smaller boy's words. They were so simple, and Kuroko's voice was still unusually blank compared to other people, but Kagami knew him well enough to discern the happy and pleased lilt to the soft tone. He grabbed the smaller boy into a massive hug, holding him tightly in his arms as he kissed the soft blue hair in front of him.

"I love you too, idiot."

Kuroko slid his thinner arms around Kagami's heavily muscled body and pulled them closer together, snuggling into his warm chest. "Thank you."

Despite the giddy realisation that their feelings weren't actually unrequited and the excitement of their breathless kisses, they both felt utterly exhausted by the day's events. Not only was it getting late but the emotional upheaval had been more tiring than they would have thought. The two snuggled closer together and happily went back to watching their film even though they had no idea what was going on. Soon enough the pair fell asleep together on the sofa, each tightly hugging their beloved under the blanket.

* * *

"I can't believe Kagami actually passed all his exams." Riko still hadn't quite gotten over how Bakagami had passed every single one of his exams on his first try. Maybe miracles really did exist?

"I know, it's a miracle. Kuroko must be a good tutor." Izuki also couldn't understand how their idiot Ace had done it; he was so shocked he couldn't even think of an appropriate pun for the situation. (Despite everyone else being shocked, they were all rather pleased at the brief reprieve from Izuki's sense of humour.)

"There they are!" Coach pointed inside the library where Kuroko was stretching up for a book with Kagami stood just behind him. The redhead reached over his teammates head and pulled the book out, handing it to the smaller boy.

Riko and Izuki were about to call to their kouhai when the the most amazing thing they'd seen in a long time happened right in front of their eyes. Kuroko turned around to face Kagami and looked up at him, smiling as he did so. Not just a small quirk of the corners of his mouth twitching up, but a massive beaming smile that made Kuroko look so utterly adorable. Riko and Izuki stopped where they stood, both blushing a little at the cute picture Kuroko presented. But the best part of the situation was Kagami's reaction. The tall boy immediately blushed so hard that his face and hair matched, stuttering badly before he quickly turned from Kuroko and hit his head on a bookshelf, falling over hard.

By this point Riko was too overcome with the sheer cuteness of the situation that she wandered off, mumbling something that sounded like "yaoi". Izuki really didn't want to know what she was thinking but made sure to watch her as the girl drifted off in a daze, hoping that she wouldn't walk into something as well. He didn't think she would be too happy if she ended up hurt; the crazy girl would probably find some way to take it out on them in practice.

He turned back to the two younger students just in time to see Kuroko bend down to his fallen classmate and gently press his lips to Kagami's head, kissing it in the exact spot he'd hit it on the shelf. Kagami looked up and directly into Kuroko's blue eyes, making him blush at the intense look from the redhead.

 _No, no more!_ thought Izuki, and he hurried away from the scene before he saw anything really intimate between the two. He might not care about same-sex relationships but he had no desire to see two of his friends getting close and personal. When he got outside he sat down on one of the benches and started absentmindedly munching on some pocky, smiling at the thought of the so-called light and shadow. _So Kagami and Kuroko, huh?_ He shook his head and wondered how on earth _that_ had happened. Whatever, he was happy for them and he hoped they were happy too.

 _Besides, they're not the only ones._ He smiled as he saw a certain cat-faced player and his silent boyfriend in the distance eating lunch together.

 _I wonder who'll be next?_

* * *

 **A/N:** This story was previously titled 'Exhausting Confession'. I recently decided to have a look at what I wrote all those years ago and couldn't stop cringing at my writing, so I took it down and updated it. The story's essentially the same but it now has proper grammar and flows a hell of a lot better that before - and considering I've always been somewhat of a grammar Nazi I have no idea how I thought that it was good enough to post. Granted it was my first attempt at fanfiction, but it still made me want to cry.

I just wanted to say this in case anyone noticed it was similar to something that had been posted years before - though I doubt anyone would, it wasn't exactly popular. This is just me covering all my bases in case anyone - miraculously - recognises this from my old crappy writing and accuses me of plagiarising myself. I haven't stolen it, it is my own and I simply tried to make it better than before.

Anyway, sorry about the mini rant, I just find it incredible how writing can evolve over time, even if my own started so terribly bad.

Thanks for reading! :D


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